


Wander and Waste Away

by WoahThereSparky



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Road Trip, Astronaut Shiro, Cheesy sleepover games played in a beat up car, Fluff and Angst, Hitchhiker AU, Hitchhiking, M/M, Mutual Pining, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Road Trips, Texan Keith (Voltron), Well he's studying to be one
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-15
Updated: 2017-04-19
Packaged: 2018-10-19 10:06:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10637652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WoahThereSparky/pseuds/WoahThereSparky
Summary: Keith had received lectures from his brother about this ever since he had begun driving. Picking up hitchhikers is dangerous. They could be murderers, drug dealers, or criminals.Or, they could be lanky young men that look too skinny and sad for their own good.





	1. Track 1-In the Aeroplane Over the Sea

_Don’t do it, Keith_

A small, black car was stopped on the side of Route 27 as its driver answered a phone call. Yet, the man couldn’t help but let his eyes wander to the figure standing further up on the road. It was approaching dusk with little sunlight shining down upon the pavement, but he could still be seen.  
The black haired driver squinted to see him, leaning over his steering wheel.

“Keith?”

Snapping out of his reverie, the man once again directed his attention towards the phone by his ear. “Can you repeat that?”

A sigh could be heard on the other end of the line as the older man continued talking in a calm tone. “I asked if you were coming down next week to visit the station. I haven’t seen my baby brother in a long time.”

His gaze wandered to the man up the road once again.  
His thumb was sticking out.  
“Um, I’ll be there, Takashi. Talk to you later.”

“Goodbye, Keith.”

The driver started his car up once again, glancing at the outstretched hand.

_Don’t do it, Keith_

He approached the stretch of empty road where the man was standing, arm lazily outstretched into the very edge of the road.

_I’m doing it._

Pulling up to the lonesome figure, all common sense thrown away, Keith rolled down his window. Now that he finally had a good look at the other, it wasn’t the best picture.  
He was skinny, unnaturally so, with dirty brown hair and a thin sheen of sweat on his skin. Waiting by a road in the Texas heat tended to do that to a person, but just his appearance concerned him. Perhaps it was sympathy, kindheartedness, or merely on a whim, but Keith managed to make eye contact with the brunet. “Do you want a ride?”

His eyes widened in surprise, arm falling limp by his side. He looked scared and confused, as if he was going to cry. That was, until he broke into a happy smile. “Really?”

“Sure.” Keith motioned for the mysterious man to walk around his car to the passenger's side. He obliged, an incredulous grin still taking over his face as he slid into the open seat.

“Oh thank god, I thought I was going to be out there all night. Thank you…” He looked over at the driver with a curious expression, prompting him for an answer.

“Keith. Buckle up so we can head out.” As Lance clipped his seatbelt on he burst out into a fit of laughter. Covering his mouth, he took deep breaths in between the chuckles.

“Keith? Like Keith Urban?” he snickered, unsticking the off white tank top from his chest.

An irritated look was shot in the hitchhiker’s direction as the car began moving once again. “What’s your name then?”

“Lance, the one and only.” He winked half heartedly at this remark, making finger pistols at the driver, who subsequently rolled his eyes.

“There’s more than one Lance in the world. And how is that any better than Keith?”

Putting a hand to his chest in mock offense, the man responded in a jokingly serious tone. “Duh, it’s Lance. Like Lancelot!” Even after a particularly odd look was shot in his direction, he continued on his rambling. “I’m a brave knight and no one else can tell me differently, Keith I-don’t-know-your-last-name.”

“You’re not going to find out what it is either.” Eyes trained on the road, Keith began questioning his decision. On one hand, Shiro would skin him alive if he could see him right now. On the other hand, this was the most interesting thing to happen to the Texan in months. It certainly topped the bird building a nest in his mailbox and flying out at him in a fit of disturbed anger.

“Well, I’m sure I can learn something about you, or this will be a long trip.” Lance leaned back in his seat, hands behind his head. Keith raised an eyebrow at him, glancing away from the road for a moment.

“Where are you going?”

With a shrug and careless expression, he looked up at the roof of the ceiling. “Doesn’t matter. Wherever you stop.”

If anything was going to concern Keith, it was that sentence. Was the man homeless? He had assumed that much by the state of his appearance, but he was a bit young for that. For one to have that lack of care for their life and where they landed up was something seen in older people. The majority of hitchhikers with that lost look in their eyes were very old, with stubble or grey hair. Lance had to be in his twenties, he had the height and build for someone Keith’s own age. 

He wasn’t going to deny Lance his wish however, it didn’t cause an inconvenience to either of them. “Fine,” he mumbled, turning on his headlights to match the darkening street. “We have two hours, what do you propose we do?”

“You asked the right guy, I’m full of good ideas!” Lance drummed his fingers against the dashboard for a few seconds, features pulled into an expression of faked concentration. “I’ve got it! I Spy!”

“No.”

“What? You can’t just veto I Spy,” Lance exclaimed as Keith flashed him an amused look.

“I can. This is a dictatorship, and the driver picks the game.”

A small pout settled onto the brunet’s face as he crossed his arms in fake sulking. “Fine, what game do you propose, Keith?” The name was drawn out in a mocking tone, though it was fairly clear that it was all in jest.

“The Question Game,” he said simply, pushing a loose piece of black hair out of his face. It had fallen out of the ponytail situated at the back of his head, not that Keith could fix it now.

“What the heck is The Question-” Lance’s gaze flicked to the back of the other man’s head, seeing the mess of hair there. “Is that a ponytail?”

“Yes. Why?”

The hitchhiker smiled again, recognizing that Keith pulled it off well, though the amusement was still there. “I thought you had short hair, and then suddenly a wild ponytail appeared.” Peeling his attention away from the amusing fluff of hair, Lance looked back at the road before them.

“So, what is this Question Game?”

Cement went out of sight as more appeared, a never ending, but calming, cycle that driving always created.  
As often as things had disappeared in Lance’s life, new things would come about. Now, something new was on the horizon for him.

Lance couldn’t wait to watch this patch of concrete come into focus.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed this! It turned from a little idea I had in my head to a full blown fic with the help of my friend, raysaki. Special thank you to them for throwing plot bunnies out there and motivating me to write!
> 
> Contact: woahtheresparky.tumblr.com  
> Fic Rec/Seach Blog: vldklanceficrecs.tumblr.com
> 
> Fic Tag: WAWA fic  
> I do realize that is a horrible fic tag, but what else am I supposed to do for an acronym?


	2. Track 2-25 or 6 to 4

“Lance.”

“What?”

“Your Miranda Rights don’t apply in the Question Game.” 

The two men had only been in the car for half an hour, and yet the tension between them had broken. The awkwardness of talking to strangers that Keith had always experienced was blown away, like dust on the hot cement. A comfortable and constant banter enveloped them, making both very happy to be in the beat up Chevy. No other car on the barren highway could contain more laughter than this one.

Keith’s eyes had a glint of amusement in them, though he was the perfect picture of irritation. “You can’t invoke the right to remain silent once the questions get personal.”

Lance scoffed, crossing his arms in fake irritation to match the driver’s. “Fine, eight. It’s mine turn now, right?”

“That is how the game works.”

“Boring ass game,” The brunet grumbled. Within a moment his plan fell into place and he turned to face Keith, attempting to disguise his mischievous smirk. “Are you a virgin?”

Keith’s attention flipped from the road to the passenger, who was flicked a second later.

“Ow, dude! An arm flick is one thing, but that was on my head!”

“Good. I’m not answering that.” Returning his eyes to the road after mentally flipping Lance off, the pale man resolved to thoroughly ignore him. 

The smile on Lance’s face grew wider and he turned in his seat to face the other. “So you’re saying…” the brunet’s eyebrows rose, hands on his knees. “That you’re choosing to remain silent?” He watched Keith’s face in pure excitement, not saying a thing in the dead silence. When the other flipped him the bird, he burst out laughing, ,relaxing back in the worn seat. Without another word, Keith turned on his car’s stereo. “Hey, what about the game?” Lance chuckled. ‘I was winning for a minute!”

Still silent, Keith put a small tape into the car, waiting for the whirring to end. Once the song began playing pleasantly through the speakers, Lance raised his eyebrows. This did not go unnoticed by the driver, who glanced his way. “Got a problem?”

An amused huff made its way out of Lance’s system, smiling at the cassette player. “Are you kidding? I was raised on this stuff!” Moving his head to the beat, Lance began singing with the track.

_**“** Waiting for the break of day_  
_Searching for something to say **”**_

Keith shot the singing man an amused look, a small smile on his face. “Nice vocals, Peter Cetera.” 

He stopped in singing along to give Keith his own look. “I’m just as good as Chicago, watch.” Lance began belting out the short chorus.

_**”** Sitting cross legged on the floor **”**_

As the next line came up, a second voice joined Lance’s. They were both slightly off key, but it wasn’t about sounding nice.  
The contrast of the two people, the two voices was overwhelming. One was loud and bright, much like the man it was attached to. The other was quiet and sweet, its owner reserving himself.

“Come on Keith, sing!” Lance mocked elbowed him, as an actual elbow to the side wouldn’t end well for someone driving. As the instrumental bridge drew to a close, Keith sighed and resigned himself to singing. 

_**“** Staring blindly into space_  
_Getting up to splash my face **”**_

One was drumming his fingers on the steering wheel, matching the drummer of the song. A smile was on his face as his eyes momentarily flicked over to see Lance. He was playing an invisible brass instrument, one that Keith couldn’t identify, between the lines of the song.

_**“** Wanting just to stay awake_  
_Wondering how much I can take **”**_

They completely burst into song, ignoring any sense of shame either had. Belting out the chorus with wide smiles, it felt comfortable there. Lance never thought he would be sitting in a stranger’s car, happily singing along to a tape of classic rock in a duet.

_**“** Should have tried to do some more_  
_25 or 6 to 4 **”**_

Lance switched to air guitar rather than what appeared to be a trumpet. Dramatically strumming at the imaginary instrument, his fingers danced across invisible frets. Keith took advantage of this guitar solo to talk in the now light atmosphere.

“Do you play?”

Flashing a smile, Lance nodded. “You’re looking at an air guitar pro right here! Well, regular guitar and ukulele too.” The rest of the musical break was spent in silence as Keith let the other rock out on his invisible guitar.

The remainder of the song was carried out in much the same way, with the pair blaring the music and singing along at a similar volume. Keith was almost sad when it ended, it meant the two had to return to silence. Not that he minded the casual banter between them, but the singing was something else. 

As it faded out, Lance piped up, “Do you play anything?” His guitar and ukulele playing had already been drawn out into the open, Lance wanted to know something about Keith. “Anything embarrassing? Marching band in high school?”

“I’m a drummer,” he spoke. Turning a light shade of pink at the last two questions, Keith grumbled to himself. “There’s nothing wrong with marching band.”

“Oh my god, you were a marching band kid!” Lance burst out laughing, covering his mouth in an attempt to calm down. “Do you have pictures?”

“I can kick your ass out of this car.”

He wouldn’t of course, Keith was having a surprising amount of fun with Lance sitting in his passenger seat. The two would get into small arguments, sure, but they were joking. No one was ever hurt at the end, it always finished with matching smiles and jokes.

Keith began to wonder if it truly was the Texas heat causing the warm feeling in his chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A second chapter, woo! Extra special thank you to raysaki, because not only did they help me come up with this fic idea, but they're now doing art for the chapters! Be on the lookout for their beautiful art soon.  
> Thank you to everyone who has left a comment, kudo, bookmarked the fic, or even read it! I really appreciate your support, and I love waking up to Ao3 emails telling me I have more kudos or comments.
> 
> Keith and Lance were singing "25 or 6 to 4" by Chicago
> 
> Contact: woahtheresparky.tumblr.com  
> Fic Rec/Seach Blog: vldklanceficrecs.tumblr.com
> 
> Fic Tag: WAWA fic


End file.
